The Setting of the Sun
by RosieLea
Summary: The death of Solid Snake.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Metal Gear Solid or any of the characters in it. But I do love them. **

Sunny replaced the drooping flowers in the vase with fresh daffodils she'd picked from the garden only that morning. She arranged them so that the bright yellow flowers faced the bed, where her sick friend lay. It was her way of bringing the joy and freedom of the outdoors in to him, a gift that he had once given to her when he rescued her and set her loose of the Patriots' bonds. She perched gingerly on the side of the bed, wishing not to disturb him too much. She was still small for her age, and delicate, though she was growing bigger and stronger by the day. This she gratefully attributed to her new, liberated life.

Sunny had no trouble in looking at the old man's face, despite the fact it was wrinkled and distorted down one side where he had been burned. After a moment his eyes opened slowly, focusing first on the flowers and then on her face.

"Thanks, Sunny." He croaked, after clearing his throat "You always pick the best ones."

Sunny beamed and nodded once. She still felt a little shy around him. Her speech had improved dramatically these past months but her admiration for the greying man never wavered; she remained in awe of her hero.

"You asked to see me, Uncle David?" She asked, timidly.

Sunny had thought it strange that he had asked for her. He knew she visited his room every day without fail, though usually not until the afternoon as he struggled most with his health in the morning.  
>David, with great effort, heaved himself into a better sitting position, though his head was already propped up by numerous plump pillows to aid his breathing. He looked steadily at the young girl, through eyes that were glazed slightly with age though still hinted at the intelligence of the man behind them.<p>

"Sunny, my days here with you and Hal have been my happiest. I've come to see you as my own daughter. But it's time for me to go. I'm going to be leaving very soon."

He watched as the smile on the girl's face dissolved rapidly, replaced with a look of horror. She shook her head angrily and clutched at the duvet.

"No, I don't want you to! Please don't go!" She squeaked miserably, staring intently at his face, willing him to change his mind.

David brought his hand shakily up to her face and held the side of it, his huge hand comical against her tiny head.

"I have to, Sunny. Now I need you to promise me, that you will live and grow and be free." There was no fear or sorrow in his tone. She sensed that he was not only comforting her but also passing on his advice with a sense of urgency and seriousness. He wanted her to act on his words. "You don't have to fight anymore. I did enough of that for the both of us. You just have to live and enjoy your life. And pass your experiences on to the next generation. I want you to experience everything that is good in the world. You understand what I'm saying, Sunny? Fight only for yourself."

Tears were streaming down her face, but she nodded vigorously, leaning her cheek into the palm of his hand. "Yes Uncle David. I will, I promise I will" She leaned forward and kissed him on his cheek

"I'm going to miss you" She whispered.

"I'm going to miss you, too." He replied, gruffly. "Now, I want you to go outside, Sunny. Go outside and don't come home until the sun is setting, okay?"

Puzzled, she nodded and replied "Yes, okay."

"After all, flowers need the sun to grow, don't they?" David smiled at her then and she giggled slightly, abashed. She smiled and climbed off the bed. She looked at him for a few seconds, not wanting to leave him. But he smiled and inclined his head slightly towards the door and she could not bring herself to argue with him. She left the room.

A little while afterward, Hal entered the bedroom. David was dozing in his propped-up position. Hal sat in the wicker chair beside the bed. He pushed his glasses up his nose and leaned back in the chair, surveying his friend. David. It had been many months since Hal had called him Snake, or indeed that David had called him Otacon. They had an unspoken agreement that those days were gone, there was no room left in their lives for codenames or weapons or, Hal chuckled, cardboard boxes or lockers or a number of other things that were throwbacks of times of fighting and strife. There were only two things left to remind them of their warrior days; Hal's Apple computer from which he could never be parted and Sunny, whom the two men had sworn to protect and raise as their own.

Hal thought then of the day of Meryl's wedding. Snake, as he was still known at the time, had told him that he was going to visit the graves of The Boss and Big Boss. And then he was going to kill himself. He was worried that he had become a ticking time bomb, a biological weapon, with the ability to kill hundreds of thousands of people just by merely existing. The FOXDIE was going to be the death of him after all. Hal had argued with Snake, firstly against him doing it at all and then, when he realised that nothing he could say would stop the suicide, to allow Hal to go with him. He didn't want Snake to die alone. But Snake insisted that Hal's place was with Sunny at Meryl's wedding. Only he and Snake knew what was about to happen. And Hal had to pretend the whole day that everything was alright. He had to smile and laugh and congratulate the happy couple. And all the time he was aching, hurting, wondering what Snake was feeling at each moment, if Snake was indeed able to feel anything at all...

That night Hal tucked an exhausted Sunny into bed then retired to the lounge and sat in the dark. He opened a bottle of whiskey. He stayed there the whole night, crying and drinking. Just before the dawn, as Hal was simultaneously sobering up and struggling to resist sleep, he heard a key in the lock. He had never moved so fast, he scrambled to his feet and ran to the door. Snake had barely stepped over the threshold before Hal threw his arms round his neck and clung on, sobbing into his shoulder and muttering incomprehensibly.

That was over six months ago. Every day since had been a gift. They had built an unexpected, civilian life together over the past months; he and Snake and Sunny. And now it was about to end.

David stirred slightly. He looked so frail now, a far cry from the vibrant, tough young man who first burst into Hal's life at Shadow Moses. The side of his face which had been burned was now a mess of scarred tissue and discolouration. His hair had thinned somewhat and had turned from dark brown to grey to white. He had lost muscle mass and as a result looked too thin. He opened his eyes now, and smiled slightly when he saw that Hal was in the room.

"Is Sunny okay?" He asked, he voice rasping.

"Yeah she's okay. She went out to the meadow, with that red kite you made... David, you really worried her. She thinks you're going to..." Hal stopped. He couldn't say it. The mere thought suffocated him.

"I am going to die Hal... I can, feel it... I... I'm ready to go. We all die, in the end... It's the only, the only... sure thing. I've killed so many people..." David paused, trying to get his breath back. His speech was slow and slightly slurred. It took effort.

"You killed only those you needed to!" Hal said indignantly "And you've saved far more than you've destroyed."

"Maybe."

"Definitely! You're a hero, you're Solid Snake. And you can't die!" Hal said, desperately, hopelessly.

"Don't be ridiculous!" David snarled. He didn't like it when Hal behaved like this. Like a petulant child. No, it wasn't fair that he had to die this young, cut down so savagely by his genetics. It was his own DNA that was degrading him in such a way. But how many others had died so young in his past? Sniper Wolf? Olga? Fortune? Raven? The female beasts who had turned to violence in the face of violence? Even Liquid and Solidus! Had Hal not watched Naomi die? And held Emma in his arms as she died? And now, it was Snake's turn. No, no. It was _David's_ turn to go.

Hal leaned forward and placed his hands on the bed. He bowed his head. "I know, I know." He said, softly. "You're right, of course."

David just grunted in reply. He had something he wanted to say to Hal before his time was over and Hal wasn't making it easy for him. He could feel his energy failing. Each breath was laboured and his mind was clouding with the fog of old age.

"I haven't ... I haven't thought ... much ... about all those things that, that... that we went through." David said, breathily. "I don't think of Meryl... or of Jack... Jack, or Grey Fox." David paused, Hal watched him through wild, hysterical eyes. He was losing it. But David pressed on, he simply had to say this. This was his final mission. "But, I think of you... all the time. We were, a_re_, partners. I wouldn't... wouldn't be here, without y...you. I f-fought, I fought for you. That was m-my reason..." David's hand reached out and grabbed hold of Hal's with surprising strength. Hal looked up, straight into David's eyes. He placed his other hand over David's and squeezed, before leaning over and giving the aged man a kiss on the forehead. When he sat back, still holding the hand, David's eyes were closed.

"David?" Hal asked, tentatively. "David?" He shook him then. "David!" But there was no response. Hal clutched onto his friend and sobbed, as he had done the morning he returned alive. He sobbed so hard, the bed sheet against his face became wet from tears. Eventually, when he could cry no more he peered up at the face of his friend through tear-fogged eyes and whispered "I love you, David." Shaking, he sat back in the chair, still grasping David's hand. David was still alive, still breathing. But each breath was shallow and laboured. Hal knew that David was never going to wake up again.

He sat there for the rest of the day, watching David breathe. He thought of nothing but the rising and falling of his friend's chest, unceasingly willing it not to stop. Just as the sun was setting and the room became drenched in a dark red light, David exhaled slightly more quietly than he had before. There was no inhalation. David didn't move again.

Hal stood, robotically, inanimately, and checked for a pulse. It was gone. Tears threatened once more, but Hal moved closer and gently swept David's hair aside so that he could see his whole face.

"I know you heard me and, knowing that, I hope you died happy. Goodbye, David." Hal whispered. He turned stiffly, and left the room. He never returned.


End file.
